Google PC and GoogleNet?
I'm not big on New Year predictions, and even more skeptical about predictions and hype in the tech industry. But a few ideas have been thrown around lately that have got my attention, and both of them have to do with Google.
The first is something that's been talked about for a while now, and was mentioned again recently in the LA Times -- the GooglePC. A low-cost PC that runs Google's own OS instead of Windows, sold in Walmarts and other other retailers at low prices, maybe just a couple hundred bucks.
For me, the big question is will it be a fully functioning PC, or some kind of 'Internet appliance' sort of thing? The reason I ask is because people have invested a lot of money in software that runs on Windows. Can Google give them enough reasons to switch? A substitute for word processing and spreadsheet applications could be done one of two ways -- OpenOffice, or online applications. But maybe the biggest issue for family PCs will be games. What will the kid think about giving up their Windows-based games when Mom and Dad bring home the new GooglePC?
On the other hand, Google may have something very different in mind. Something that combines some functions of a PC with other devices such as the phone, tv, stereo, etc. Of course PCs can do all that stuff already, but if Google can make it easy -- out of the box -- then they could be onto something.
Which brings me to the second Google rumour floating around (including Robert Cringely's take on it all) -- GoogleCubes. Basically, these are little boxes with lots of different kinds of connectors on them, so that you can plug them into just about anything -- your phone, TV, stereo, PC, etc. They wirelessly network with each other, making it really easy to hook any phone into a VoIP network, move music and video around from one device to the other, etc. And it may turn out that they connect to Google either by your existing broadband connection, or by Wi-Fi if you happen to live in a place where Google offers free wireless networking. Throw it together with the GooglePC and Google's network of portable data centres, and maybe it really will be moving closer to something that could be called GoogleNet.
So why am I blogging about all this? Easy enough to see my interest in the GooglePC -- cheap hardware. But what about the possible GoogleCube or GoogleNet? Simple really. If Google do this, it could mean cheaper VoIP calls, an easy way to get digital content from one box to another (like from my PC to my TV) and a cheap way to get access to legal music and video downloads. I like Google. If they can do for VoIP and media production and distribution what they've done for search and online advertising, then I'm all for it.
The first is something that's been talked about for a while now, and was mentioned again recently in the LA Times -- the GooglePC. A low-cost PC that runs Google's own OS instead of Windows, sold in Walmarts and other other retailers at low prices, maybe just a couple hundred bucks.
For me, the big question is will it be a fully functioning PC, or some kind of 'Internet appliance' sort of thing? The reason I ask is because people have invested a lot of money in software that runs on Windows. Can Google give them enough reasons to switch? A substitute for word processing and spreadsheet applications could be done one of two ways -- OpenOffice, or online applications. But maybe the biggest issue for family PCs will be games. What will the kid think about giving up their Windows-based games when Mom and Dad bring home the new GooglePC?
On the other hand, Google may have something very different in mind. Something that combines some functions of a PC with other devices such as the phone, tv, stereo, etc. Of course PCs can do all that stuff already, but if Google can make it easy -- out of the box -- then they could be onto something.
Which brings me to the second Google rumour floating around (including Robert Cringely's take on it all) -- GoogleCubes. Basically, these are little boxes with lots of different kinds of connectors on them, so that you can plug them into just about anything -- your phone, TV, stereo, PC, etc. They wirelessly network with each other, making it really easy to hook any phone into a VoIP network, move music and video around from one device to the other, etc. And it may turn out that they connect to Google either by your existing broadband connection, or by Wi-Fi if you happen to live in a place where Google offers free wireless networking. Throw it together with the GooglePC and Google's network of portable data centres, and maybe it really will be moving closer to something that could be called GoogleNet.
So why am I blogging about all this? Easy enough to see my interest in the GooglePC -- cheap hardware. But what about the possible GoogleCube or GoogleNet? Simple really. If Google do this, it could mean cheaper VoIP calls, an easy way to get digital content from one box to another (like from my PC to my TV) and a cheap way to get access to legal music and video downloads. I like Google. If they can do for VoIP and media production and distribution what they've done for search and online advertising, then I'm all for it.
<< Home